From the Pastor

First Sunday of Lent The Sunday of the Holy Images The First Sunday of Great Lent is kept as the anniversary of the restoration of the Holy Icons to veneration and honor after the final defeat of the iconoclast heresy. The Seventh Ecumenical Council in the year 787 condemned the iconoclast heresy, but the final restoration of the Holy Icons did not take place until 843, with a solemn procession on the first Sunday of Lent in that year. Ever since then, all the churches of the Byzantine tradition, including our Ukrainian Catholic Church, remember that event joyfully. The reference to “Orthodoxy” in the title of this First Sunday of Lent is not denominational; it refers to all those who venerate the Holy Icons properly in divine worship. The Catholic Church fully accepts the Seventh Ecumenical Council and the proper veneration and use of the Holy Icons. So, the restoration of the Holy Icons is a cause of joy for all Christians who accept the proper use of the Holy Icons. LENT Lent is a time for reflection, a time to reconsider our intentions, our attitudes, our actions, our habits and our direction in life. It’s a time to purify our lives, to forgive, to refocus and to grow closer to God. Lent is a special time of grace and joy. As we accompany Jesus to Calvary turn to Him, find Him, know Him and rejoice in His love. DURING LENT Let us deny ourselves: gossip, in order to know the meaning of thoughtfulness; faultfinding, to know the meaning of friendship; bitterness, to know the meaning of joy; bigotry, to know the meaning of humankind; irrational anger, in order to know the meaning of self-control; stinginess, to know the meaning of generosity; pettiness, to know the meaning of openness; cowardice, to know the meaning of courage; hardness, to know the meaning of forgiveness; arrogance, in order to know the meaning of wisdom; selfishness, to know the meaning of freedom; despair, to know the meaning of hope; hate, to know the meaning of love. НА ПРОТЯЗІ ВЕЛИКОГО ПОСТУ Відмовмо собі: плітки, щоб збагнути сенс задуму; критику, щоб пізнати сенс дружби; гіркоту, щоб пізнати сенс радости; фанатизм, щоб пізнати сенс людськости; ірраціональний гнів, щоб пізнати сенс самоконтролі; скупість, щоб пізнати сенс щедрости; дріб’язковість, щоб пізнати сенс відкритости; боягузтво, щоб пізнати сенс мужности; твердість, щоб пізнати сенс вибачення; ароґанцію, щоб пізнати сенс мудрости; егоїзм, щоб пізнати сенс свободи; відчай, щоб пізнати сенс надії; ненависть, щоб пізнати сенс любови.

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ВІДВІДИНИ ХВОРИХ

       If you or a family member are admitted to a hospital for any reason and wish to have a priest come to visit, please notify the parish office. Recent federal privacy laws do not allow hospitals to notify the parish if you are admitted. It is the responsibility of the patient or family to notify the parish office.

     

Ukrainian Catholic Retreat        Members of Saint Josaphats Ukrainian Catholic Church have a long history of participation in Retreats. For many years men and women of the Parish participated in Men’s Retreats or Women’s Retreats conducted by Roman Rite priests of the Redemptorist Order.      read more

St. Josaphats Festival        The St. Josaphat's Ukrainian Festival was established in 1973 as an effort to introduce Ukrainian Arts and Crafts, Ukrainian food, and Ukrainian music and dance to the Greater Rochester community. Since its       read more